Emergency officials use the Saffir-Simpson scale to decide which areas to evacuate. It ranks hurricanes from Category 1 (minimal) to Category 5 (catastrophic). ...more

May 23, 2008

The Atlantic Basin should have normal or above normal hurricane activity this year, which means residents in vulnerable areas - like the Gulf Coast - should take measured precautions, meteorologists said. ...more

May 23, 2008

Conditions are in place for an active hurricane season, with government scientists predicting an above-average number of storms in 2008. ...more

May 23, 2008

NOAA: LIKELIHOOD OF TWO TO FIVE MAJOR HURRICANES THIS YEAR ...more

May 22, 2008

TAMPA (AP) — The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season should be about as bad as normal or slightly busier, with a good chance of six to nine hurricanes forming, federal forecasters said Thursday in a new way of predicting how active the season could be. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials also said 12 to 16 named storms and two to five major hurricanes could form in the season that starts June 1 and ends Nov. 30. They said there is only a 60 to 70 percent chance for their predictions to come true, the first time officials gave a probability. They want people to realize the forecasts are uncertain, to avoid complacency that can occur when previous forecasts were wrong. ...more

May 22, 2008

TAMPA - Top government forecasters are expected to reveal their calculations on the severity of the coming hurricane season. ...more

May 22, 2008

The country's best-known forecaster of hurricane seasons issued a new outlook for the next two months, calling for two hurricanes before season's end - one of them growing into a Category 3 or higher. ...more

October 3, 2007

TAMPA - The country's best-known forecaster of hurricane seasons issued a new outlook for the next two months, calling for two hurricanes before season's end - one of them growing into a Category 3 or higher. ...more

October 2, 2007